


Writers and Readers

by RobinMistySaddle



Category: Fandom - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-02
Updated: 2016-11-02
Packaged: 2018-08-28 07:26:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8436715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinMistySaddle/pseuds/RobinMistySaddle
Summary: The relationship between fic writers and fic readers, updated periodically.Last updated 11/6/16





	

**Author's Note:**

> An ongoing essay on fics

If you are here, you are a fan. That is a given. Whether you wish to create a story within a certain fandom or you just wish to read stories within a certain fandom, you are a fan. There are certain worlds and characters which resonate that bring all of us here.

Every fan does not come here with the same beliefs, ideas, and interests. Even within a prefered fandom, there are enough tags in order for a reader to find those works in which they are interested. A fan who reads crack fic isn't going to search out and read angst fic. I am not suggesting that a crack fic reader wouldn't enjoy an angst fic, within their prefered fandom, but they are not going to actively search for one. Even within a narrower category, not every story will appeal to the reader. It becomes problematic when a reader projects their own views onto a writer's creation.

A fic writer is telling a story. They take shows, characters, even situations, that they know and love and put their own spin on things. They take a world that they have become intimately familiar with and use it for their own storytelling purposes, doing so in their own way. They are taking a fandom and introducing one or more variables in order to put a new spin on stories and characters that fans know and enjoy.

It is wrong for the reader to criticize a writer simply because a story doesn’t meet the reader’s expectations. The reader doesn’t have to like it each and every part of a story, nor should a reader enjoy every story written within a fandom. It is important for the reader to remember that it is ok to not like a story. A reader doesn’t have to keep reading it if it goes in a different direction from how it started. The reader can lose interest in a story if it no longer engages them. In the same way that a person reading a published book can put it down if they don't like it, which is something that everybody has heard (outside of English classes, of course), a fic reader can simply stop reading a work if they don't like it.

It would not be improper for a reader to provide constructve criticism of a story; there is a comment section, after all. The writer may either demur or ignore such comments because they are telling a different story than what the reader expects. Ideally, the reader should not give a blanket statement telling the writer they don't like a story without providing a reason, although, ironically, it's perfectly permissible for the reader who likes a story to give a blanket statement telling the writer that they do like a story without providing a reason.

Ultimately, a writer has no duty or obligation to the reader; they are not beholden to the reader. Blanket statements in the comment section telling the writer they are doing something wrong are unacceptable; it is the writer's story. Writer's have different motivations for crafting a story. It is for precisely this reason that telling a writer that they are doing something wrong should not be done. The reader does not know why the writer has written the story the way that they have and it is presumptive on the part of the reader to tell the writer otherwise.

Most disturbingly are ad hominen attacks on the writer. If both the writers and readers are indeed fans then even though they might approach their fandom through different experiences and epectations, there is no need for a reader to reach beyond the work and be critical of the person themselves and insulting of them. Disparaging remarks have no place in a critical response to a story or chapter, since the only aim of such a comment is to stifle another's point of view.1

Critical responses to a fic writers work are beneficial to all parties. It allows for a meaningful conversation not only about the fic writer's works, but of the fandom in general. A lack of discourse does not do any of the players any good.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Paragraph added 11/6/16


End file.
